The Guardian Of Shikon No Tama
by Kaminari Ishihara
Summary: This is an elaborate plot. I have introduced new characters and I will be a little slow initially since i am still studying and this is a time consuming activity. However, I will upload sooner during vacations. Thoughts of characters are within - -
1. Chapter 1

It was a pleasant afternoon with the sun shining softly and the wind blowing through her short boyish black hair. She had her eyes closed. Sitting under the shade of a huge tree in the park, Naomi Ogata was lost in past memories of a fateful day.

Naomi was just a four year old girl, with her friends running around in the grassy field. She was playing tag right outside her town. As she continued to play, her mother came to her with a sweet smile on her face and told Naomi that they had to go to the city. Her father had been posted to Tokyo. Naive as a child, Naomi felt excited to go see the city with its cars, huge buildings and bright lights. She was glad to be moving closer to her aunt(mother's sister) and her two year old cousin Kagome Higurashi. Little did she know that this day would mark the beginning of a surreal loneliness. She waved a quick bye to all her friends and left with great enthusiasm.

The city gave her very little which her town did not. Better education and greater access to technology was followed by the lack of friends. Being a bright girl from the very beginning, most of the children in her class thought of her as arrogant and vain. Not many talked to her and those who did tried their best to use her for their homework and assignments. Though she did not realise that at first, as she grew she was well aware of all the facets of opportunists. She transformed into a completely different person as she grew in the city. She bottled her emotions and put on a fake persona and always appeared jolly though in truth she was far from it. She hated the world for its ways and had become cynical towards almost all things relating to feelings. The only thing keeping her sane was probably her love for gadgets and music. On many occasions she would retreat from the world and listen to music to drown her sorrows. When the frustrations thrust too hard on her, she would visit Kagome. Being with her cousin was one thing that still kept her from becoming antisocial.

She opened her eyes and wondered at how eager she was to leave all her friends just for the hustle and bustle of the city. Realising that she was drifting back to reminders of her silent suffering, she decided to go to Kagome's house and spend sometime with her cousin. It was 5:30pm when she left and she reached Kagome's place by 6:00pm. Accompanied by her cell phone cum walkman, she was climbing the stairs to the house.

"Sota! How are you," she said as she saw Sota right in front of the house making his way to the shrine.

"Ne-chan! I'm great. How come you're here today?"

"Nothing special really. Just thought I'd bug you for the night. How does that sound?"

She smiled at Sota and put a hand on his head and messed his neatly combed hair. He laughed and so did she. Naomi ran into the house and Sota chased her.

"Hey mom, look ne-chan is here!" Sota said enthusiastically.

"Naomi! It's nice to see you. How have you been and how are your parents?"

"They're all fine and a little too busy just as usual. Mom wanted to meet you, but she is not able to find time. I just thought I'd visit and maybe stay here for the night, if you don't mind that is…"

"Of course not dear. You can stay here as long as you want."

"Thank you so much. I'll just be calling home to tell them that I'll be here for the night."

Naomi walked over to the phone thinking that she did a good thing by coming over. It was a welcome change. Every other day involved her staying home all alone for most of the time as both her parents were employed.

She had kept the receiver back in its place, when she heard voices coming from outside. One of the voices she was aware of. "Kagome," she said to herself. The other voice was that of a boy. She thought that it must be her boyfriend. After all, not everybody was as unlucky in love like herself. She went out following the voices and there they stood. Kagome was in her school uniform and there was a boy with long silvery-white hair and doggy ears. Naomi was puzzled. What are those doggy ears doing there? She wondered. She stood in her place, looking at Kagome and the weird boy from a distance.

"Look here Inuyasha, I have to go to school. It's been a long time since I came back and if I stay away for too long, I'll fail in the exams. I'm in high school now. Things are not as simple as they were. Its best if you leave me be for sometime."

"What about the jewel shards? Are you telling me that we just let that bastard Naraku find them and keep them? No way! You're coming back tomorrow. I'll be waiting for you in the morning."

"SIT BOY!"

Naomi was watching intently even though she didn't understand anything. The boy fell with a thud when Kagome said 'sit boy'. That came as a shock. Kagome began to walk towards the house and Naomi hid herself, waiting for Kagome to turn around the edge. Kagome walked past and she didn't even notice her cousin standing there. Naomi thought she'd surprise Kagome by catching her from behind. She started to run towards Kagome with silent steps and right when she was about to touch Kagome, something hit her and she fell face first. Kagome let out a slight scream and she turned around to find Inuyasha with his foot on someone's back. Kagome came running to take a look at Inuyasha's victim. She was surprised to find Naomi there.

"Ne-chan! Are you alright? Inuyasha, what did you go and do that for?"

"In case you didn't notice, this guy was trying to grab you from behind. I just saved you."

"No this is my cousin and she is not a boy!"

"Not a boy?! But, she has sort hair and she's not wearing what you're wearing. She has something like Hojo! It's a boy Kagome!! This is a 'he'!!"

"Sit boy."Kagome said calmly and Inuyasha plummeted to the ground. She helped Naomi up and took her inside with inuyasha following closely behind.

"Ouch!" Naomi said, as Kagome touched her face. Kagome went to get Naomi some clean clothes while Inuysha was to keep watch on her. He kept staring at Naomi like she was some kind of alien life form.

"What're you looking at?"

"I'm looking at you. Are you a girl or a boy?"

Naomi was irked, she had a boy cut, wore jeans and tucked her shirt in but she did not look like a boy. This was the height of Insults. She chose to remain silent.

"You're a boy aren't you?" He said again.

"No I am not a boy. Tell me, is something wrong with your eyes? Why do you think I'm a boy?!" Her voice was filled with anger.

"Well…you have short hair and you wear clothes like Hojo."

"Looks like you haven't seen too many girls in your life. It's no wonder really. With a face like yours, I'm sure most of them ran away even before you could cast a glance their way." She smirked. Inuyasha seemed confused. Naomi rolled her eyes and looked at the doorway. Kagome came in with fresh set of clothes and asked her to go change. When Naomi was done changing over, she came in to find Kagome and that strange boy arguing again.

"Be nice to her you understand me Inuyasha?"

"It's my wish. I'll behave the way I want to."

"Hey it's useless to tell this guy. He seems to be less endowed…if you know what I mean." Naomi let out a laugh and Inuyasha had the same puzzled look again.

"Did you understand what she just said Kagome?"

"Yes and I guess she was right." She sighed and sat on her bed right besides Naomi.

"Dinner's ready!"Kagome's mom said.

Everybody ate and Naomi had the time of her life saying things to Inuyasha, who never managed to understand anything. Everybody laughed with Naomi except Inuyasha. After dinner, Naomi headed towards Kagome's room and the room was empty this time. She sat on the bed waiting for Kagome to come. They had lots of catching up to do.

After fifteen minutes, Naomi was bored. She started to look around the room and she saw a small bottle with glowing shards of some material. She picked up the bottle and took some shards in her hand. They began to glow brightly. The colour changed from faint purple to almost a blinding white. Kagome entered and Naomi was startled. The shards fell to the ground and the original purple colour was back. Kagome never saw the shards drop, but she could see the bolltle shards in Naomi's hands. As soon as Kagome entered the room, she started explaining about the incident from two years ago. Naomi couldn't believe her ears.

"…and that's how I have these shards."

"It's…not possible. It's just not possible to travel in time like this. Some of the greatest scientists in the world have not been able to travel in time in its true sense"

Kagome smiled and said, "You worry too much and honestly, you're behaving like a nerd."

"What do you mean like a nerd? I just told you some hard facts. And honestly, if knowing a lot makes me a nerd then I'm proud to be one." Naomi pouted.

"There you go again. Calm down. I'm not insulting you. We all know that you're the smartest in the family. Now we should get some sleep. I don't want to fight with you."

With that Kagome turned out the lights and she fell asleep soon after that. Naomi on the other hand couldn't help but think about those weird shards. She kept staring at the shards kept on the table.

Kagome is the reincarnation of a priestess and she can see the shards and purify them. But why did they change colour when I touched them? She said that the shards remain pure or get corrupted depending upon the nature and intentions of the user. But that doesn't make them change colour does it? Then why did they glow?

Naomi heard arguments again but the voices were hushed and closer this time. She opened her eyes and saw that it was morning already. Sleep had taken over her without warning. But she started wondering about the shards yet again.

"So you're awake."

Naomi seemed lost when she heard those words from Kagome. She sat up on the bed reluctantly and as soon as she sat, her eyes scanned the room for those shards yet again.

"Kagome, Sota, Naomi, and Inuyasha come down. Breakfast's ready."

"Coming mom!" yelled Kagome. She was in her uniform again and she rushed downstairs with a bag on her shoulder. Naomi brushed and took a bath as soon as she could. She wore her clothes which were washed and ready now. She took the shards and her cell phone before she went down.

Breakfast was light and delicious. Everybody was done and Naomi helped her aunt clear the table. She thought she should leave and wanted to talk to Kagome. Just then Inuyasha stormed in.

"Where's Kagome?" He demanded.

"I don't know. What do you want with her?" Naomi replied.

"I can't tell you." Inuyasha said in his usual rude manner. "Kagome! This is important you have got to come right away."

"Oh what's it this time?" Kagome asked from inside.

"There's a demon close to Kaede's village and rumour has it that it has three jewel shards. We need those shards."

"Oh alright. But I'll be back as soon as we're done gathering those shards. Ok?" Kagome said as she walked out of the house. She waved to Naomi and ran towards the well hurriedly.

Just my luck

Naomi drifted back to her thoughts and started to leave when she remembered about the shards she had taken from Kagome. She had to return them to her and she followed Kagome.

"Kagome wait! There's something I have to give you. Stop!"

"I can't. I have to go now. I'm sorry. I'll see you soon. Bye." With that Kagome jumped into the well and she disappeared.

"No Kagome come back!" It was too late now. Kagome had jumped and Naomi was awe struck to see her vanish into thin air like that. Naomi still had the shards with her and she started to think of a way to give those shards to Kagome. She might need the shards. Naomi decided to consult Sota. But he said that only she could travel to the feudal era.

This put Naomi in a difficult situation. So she decided that she'd go down to the bottom of the well and that she'd set the shards down on the ground.

Kagome can see the shards. So if she needs the shards, she'll have to come back and when she does come back, she'll see the shards in the mud and she can take them. Yeah!

Naomi thought of executing her plan and she carefully climbed down the well using a ladder, but as she set her foot on the floor of the well, she felt light headed and the last thing she remembered was falling on the ground.


	2. Chapter 2

Naomi was on something moist and cool. It smelled like mud. She opened her eyes and saw that she was at the bottom of a well. That's when she remembered that she felt light headed when she climbed down the well at Kagome's. It was pitch black. She couldn't see anything around her. Clumsily she stood up, trying to locate the ladder by touching the walls of the well. She could feel something like a rope, but it was very uneven. Perhaps it was a plant, but she could not locate any ladders. With some effort she climbed up and when she was close to the top, she could see several sparkling dots.

-what are those dots?? Wait a minute…those aren't dots those are stars, and if those are stars, then that's the sky and if that's the sky, then where in the world am I?-

Perplexed, she climbed out of the well atop a small grassy mound. There was not a single person in sight. She was lost and the worst part was that there was no signal in her cell phone. Analysis of the situation came as a natural instinct to her.

-I don't have any signal in my cell meaning that I am nowhere close to civilization-urban civilization. So what are the possibilities? I have travelled back in time. There is no other explanation of what could have happened, and if this is feudal Japan, then I'll have to walk miles before I can get to any settlements. Rather obvious conclusion come to think of it. I should get going now.-

She set off from there with the hope to come across somebody. She remembered the name Kaede, and there was a fair chance that more people knew her.

Walking in a forest for over an hour now, Naomi became hungry but there was no sign of people or even food. It was best if she searched in the morning. Famished and exhausted she slept under a tree.

--

"How could you lose the shards Kagome? How could you!" Inuyasha was beyond angry.

"Calm down Inuyasha. Kagome doesn't have the shards, but we know that it's not with Naraku either, because if Naraku had found the shards, he would have come after us and we would have been dead by now." The wise monk Miroku spoke as he sat eating inside Kaede's hut. Sango had finished eating and was wiping Hiraikotsu. It had become bloody after the battle with the demon from near the village. Kirara and Shippo were busy eating and Kagome was searching for the shards inside her bag. She was left with only three shards which she acquired today from the demon.

"If its not here and if it's not with Naraku, then I must have forgotten it at home. I'll have to go back tomorrow to get the shards." Kagome said in a voice as if convincing herself of the safety of the shards.

"Don't worry child. Take rest now. You can go back in the morning." Kaede said reassuringly.

--

The night felt unusually long for Naomi. She couldn't sleep for most of the time. Rustling leaves and strange noises combined with rocks pocking her back were no where close to a comfortable bed and a soft pillow. The first rays of sunshine were gentle on her face, but food was all she could think of. She woke up and she decided to find food before anything else.

-The shards can wait. I have to live to get the shards to Kagome and I won't see tomorrow if I don't eat now.-

She had just started to walk when she got the sound of gushing water.

-RIVER!!-

With renewed vigour she went in direction of the sound and she came across a river. It was shallow, transparent and filled with fish. Now that there was plenty of food swimming around, all she had to do was catch some. She folded her pant, rolled up the sleeves of her shirt, put away her cell phone and entered the water.

-It can't be too hard. All I have to do is, wait for some unsuspecting fish to come close and I'll nab it. Yeah…how hard can it be?!-

Another hour passed but her plans were foiled. The fish were too swift for her. Forgetting about the fish, she drank water enough to last her sometime.

-Just my luck.-

She came back out and walked along the banks trying to find some berries. She kept walking and it seemed like forever.

-God in heaven, what did I do to deserve this?!Please, all I'm asking for is some food. Please Kami sama!!-

She was dead tired but she didn't stop walking. Another hour passed with no sign of divine intervention, until she came across a little girl singing and catching fish almost effortlessly in the river. She had a companion, a green toad like creature, but it was dressed like people.

-That confirms it. I did travel to the feudal era. The outfit of that creature is reminiscent of the time. And they just might know of Kaede. No harm in making conversation.-

"Hello there!" She said to the little girl.

The girl turned around and gave a big smile.

"Hello there. My name is Rin and this is lord Jaken. We're trying to catch fish for breakfast. We stay with lord Sesshomaru. He's not here right now. Lord Jaken is taking care of me until he comes back. I love to play hide and seek. Will you play with me? What's your name? Your clothes are different. Where are you from?..."

oO

-This seems to be the second biggest mistake of my life. First those shards land me here, and this girl…wow…that mouth of hers has as many horse powers as a BMW. This is just not my day.-

"Shut up Rin. You human wench, keep away from Rin or else I'll be forced to kill you." Jaken stood in front of Rin and held his staff as if ready to attack.

"My name is Naomi. I love to play hide and seek too. I'll play with you teach me how to catch those fish. What do you say? Deal?"

"How dare you ignore me worthless human!!" Jaken was about to use his staff but Rin ran away from behind him knocking him down in the process.

"Sure Naomi-chan. Don't mind lord Jaken. Lord Sesshomaru will hurt him a lot if something happens to me. That's why he's being rude to you."

"Rin! Come back here!"

Naomi and Rin became good friends really fast nad Naomi finally learnt how to catch fish. They ate well before playing. Jaken kept yelling at both of them but neither of them paid any attention to him.

--

Inuyasha and the others except Kagome were waiting at the well for Kagome to return with the shards. It had been a couple of hours since Kagome left. Inuyasha was impatient but he was stuck in his place. Kagome used sacred seals to bind Inuyasha at his place and she used an extra seal for his mouth to keep him from whining. Sango was smacking Miroku for having touched her bum and Shippo was playing with Kirara. Finally the long wait was over. Kagome had emerged from the well, but with a look of concern on her face.

"They're gone." She said.

"Hmph…mfgh!" Inuyasha struggled.

"What do you mean Kagome? You said they'd be at your place." Sango said.

"mfgh hmph pssm mffs!!"

"They were supposed to be in my room. But I checked everywhere. I lost those shards. Nobody in the house saw them. They just disappeared."

Everybody was worried now. Nobody spoke a word.

"Grrr…mff pff!! Hmph mfgh!!" This was the loudest protest Inuyasha could manage. Only shippo and Kirara noticed his cry for freedom of speech.

"Kagome, maybe you should remove those seals now. Inuyasha is going berserk." Shippo said while cowering behind Miroku.

"Oh right. I forgot about that."

She went and as soon as she removed the seal on his mouth, Inuyasha started at the top of his voice-

"What do you mean they disappeared? How can they disappear?! You were supposed to have those shards!!" he paused.

"And Kagome, did you bring something from home? There's a strange scent here. I got this scent for the first time at your place."

"A new scent? Are you sure it's not a demon?" Miroku asked.

"No, it's human alright."

"A new human scent!! Could it be?" Kagome seemed worried now.

"What do you mean by that Kagome?" Sango was curious too.

"My cousin, she came over day before yesterday and she left for new house yesterday morning. When I went back home, my mother told me that she hadn't reached home yet. She went missing. I didn't even want to come back here."

"That boy who went around pretending to be a girl? Of course!! Kagome your cousin was here. The scent is light but it's in the air. It's our cousin. We can catch up if we hurry. C'mon guys!" Inuyasha hurried in the direction of the scent hoping to find Naomi as soon as possible. Inuyasha sped towards Naomi as fast as he could. He had reached the river.

"The scent is stronger here. We're close." He said.

--

"Rin, can we please stop now? We've been playing continuously. I want to sit down for a while." Naomi was exhausted. Lack of sleep from the previous night made it worse for her.

"Ok Naomi-chan. I'll go pick flowers for Lord Sesshomaru then." Rin ran off.

"Rin don't go too far. Rin, slow down." Jaken followed her and fell right where she stopped. Rin sat down to pick flowers with a beautiful song to match it.

"Naomi sat there watching Rin. Rin reminded her of her own childhood-the one she gave away for the city life. She put on some music to keep her from getting dark thoughts.

"Naomi!" Kagome called out when she saw her sitting in the field. But Naomi couldn't hear her with the music. Naomi was still staring away at Rin blankly. She came back to reality when she saw Rin and Jaken standing still and staring right back at her. She removed the ear phones to hear a burst of sounds coming from behind her.

"NAOMI!!" Kagome and the others shouted.

Naomi turned around to see Kagome, Inuyasha and a few more people running towards her.

"Kagome! I thought I'd never see you again. Who are all these people with you?"

"They're my friends. Miroku, Sango, Shippo and Kirara. But tell me how did you get here?" Kagome hugged her cousin as she spoke.

"I…"Naomi was cut off by Miroku. Sango was about to throw fits of rage.

"Hello Naomi. I'm Miroku. I'm a monk and I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw a beauty like you. From the minute I set eyes on you I knew it. You had to be one." Miroku took her hand and came close to her, but unexpectedly, Naomi pushed him away with such force that he fell back.

"Don't be trying to flatter me. You say you're a monk but evidence and your behaviour proves otherwise sir! I suggest you stay away from me and choose your words wisely from next time." Naomi threatened him. Everybody was amazed. Nobody could keep Miroku at bay, not even Sango. Naomi was the first one. Miroku didn't dare to do anything after that.

"You see Kagome. I took those shards from your room and I ran after you to return them. But you jumped into the well. I followed you and then I was transported to this time. I went searching for you guys and I found Rin and Jaken today." Naomi began walking towards Rin. But she was stopped by Kagome.

"You have the shards right now?"

"Yeah. They're in my pocket."

"Are you sure about that? I can't see them. I can't even feel their presence. Can you Miroku?"

"No. I can't."

"You can't feel because you're busy with impure thoughts Miroku." Sango retorted and Miroku burst into laughter.

"What do you mean you can't feel them? You're the priestess right? You always feel them right?" Naomi was bewildered.

"I don't know. We need to ask Kaede. She might have some answers. C'mon Naomi. We have to go before Sesshomaru comes back." Kagome urged Naomi.

"Yeah. Just let me say bye to Rin. She's a sweet child. If it wasn't for her, would have starved today." With that Naomi went to Rin. She put her hand on her head, gave her a small hug and she was saying something to her.

"Kagome. Take Naomi fast. He's here. We've got to get out of here!" Inuyasha said.

"Naomi!! Come…back…" Kagome's voice became faint as she ended that sentence.

"yeah I'm coming." Naomi said as she stood up. She turned around and she bumped into something. Something big and very hard. She fell back and hurt her nose.

"Oww"

"Lord Sesshomaru. I picked some flowers for you."

"Shit. He's here." Inuyasha unsheathed the tetsusaiga.


	3. Chapter 3

Naomi fell hard and her nose hurt a lot

Naomi fell hard and her nose hurt a lot. It felt like she banged into a steel wall.

*Is something broken? Ouch!*

She opened one eye and saw someone clad in white standing in front of her. She looked up and saw long silvery white hair flowing with the wind and cold golden eyes staring down at her.

*wow…such a beautiful woman!*

She stood up and apologized. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know that you were standing behind me miss…uh…miss…"She still didn't know the name.

"Silly Naomi-chan. That's lord Sesshomaru." Rin said with a very innocent smile.

"Ah…Sorry miss Sesshom…," She was dumbstruck. "You are lord Sesshomaru?! You mean to tell me you're a guy?!"

*O.O

Ok, now, I believe in little green men from outer space. If this is what a guy looks like, then I should be classified as a Martian! God this guy is pretty. So pretty that I feel weird calling myself a girl.*

"I'm so sorry Lord Sesshomaru. I thought you were **cough**a girl **cough**. So, bye bye Rin. I'll be seeing you around then." Naomi began to walk towards Kagome and the others but yet again she bumped into Sesshomaru, only this time, her nose was saved.

"Hey…I'm sorry. Really, I didn't know that you looked so…pretty. I got confused. I think you now know that girls from the future are clearly not used to good looking guys." She laughed and tried to talk her way out of the situation. But to no avail. Sesshomaru stood in front of her like a stone statue incapable of hearing.

"Ok. Fine. This is it. I am losing patience with you." Naomi decided to go around Sesshomaru only to get pushed back in a most hostile fashion. She fell back and skidded a few feet further away.

"Sesshomaru! You leave her alone. You hear me? It's me you want. Let Naomi go." Inuyasha tried his best to distract his brother.

"Shut up. It bores me to tears every time you try to defend a human. I suppose your human half leads you to help the humans you love. But this one does not concern you. This wench was never a part of your group of weaklings. What pretext do you have this time my pathetic half breed brother?" Sesshomaru said while keeping his gaze fixed at Naomi. Venom dripped from his every word. She stood up and was now convinced that this new guy was fast, strong and very rude. The gears in her brain started to turn.

*I cant out run him. I cant knock him down and run over to Kagome. Think girl think!*

"Sesshomaru. Leave Naomi alone. Or else I'll be forced to purify you. Don't forget that I'm a priestess and you are a demon." Kagome was ready with her bow and arrow. The arrow even began shining brightly. She was ready to fire.

"Oh really? I'm petrified." Sesshomaru said as his lips curled into a smirk. Kagome fired the arrow and it flew back when it hit him. Everybody was shocked except Naomi who seemed lost in thought.

"Inuyasha please do something." Kagome whispered into his ears.

"Was that supposed to be inaudible to me?" Sesshomaru taunted her.

"Shut your face Sesshomaru. I want to fight you now. Prepare for pain. WIND SCAR!" Inuyasha ran from his place towards Sesshomaru, but as usual the demon lord proved superior to him. The attack was dodged successfully.

Inuyasha kept charging at his brother while the latter kept dodging everything. Inuyasha stopped to rest a while.

"Tired already brother? I'm most disappointed. I expected so much more from you."

"I'm not tired and mighty. I just got a brilliant idea." Inuyasha smirked and asked Kagome for the three jewel shards. She handed them to him and he embedded them in the tetsusaiga.

"Now let me see what you can do. Wind Scar!!"

"I thought you'd do this." Sesshomaru ran towards Inuyasha with his tremendous speed as he dodged this attack too. He hit Inuyasha in the stomach. Poor Inuyasha hadn't seen this coming. His stomach felt like it came out of his back. The pain was immense, but he didn't let go of his fang.

Similar attacks and hits ensued from both sides. But inuyasha was weakening fast. Inuyasha was bleeding while Sesshomaru only had a few scratches on him.

*C'mon! There has to be something I can do! I have to hurry before Inuyasha gets torn limb from limb. * Naomi was desperate now.

*Of course! The jewel shards!! Inuyasha used them to increase the power of his attack. Maybe, I can use it to increase my speed. If I use it at the right time, I just might escape.* She quietly slid her hand in the pocket and held the shards tightly. She concentrated hard to gather all the strength she had.

*Focus! Run, try to get inuyasha and get out as fast as you can. If the jewel helps, you'll pull it off. No sweat!*

Inuyasha was down on his knee breathing hard. Sesshomaru was walking over to him slowly.

"You fool. You really think you can beat me? Did you forget that you're only half demon?!" As soon as Sesshomaru had said that, he saw inuyasha disappear from in front of him. Inuyasha had run away but with great speed. He was amazed though he was clearly not amused. He turned around trying to locate Naomi. But she too was gone. Flustered slightly, he turned to face Kagome. He was flabbergasted to see that both Naomi and Inuyasha were standing there with smiles plastered on their faces. The girl had run away while he was distracted but how?

"Hey brother, looks like you lose again. I'll let you think about how that happened. Right now, we're leaving. Bye sucker." Inuyasha and the others left. Sesshomaru didn't bother to follow. His ego was very fragile and it had just suffered a big blow. A human girl saved herself from under his nose. Something was not right. She was human for sure yet she managed to move so quickly. He thought-

*She has a secret for sure. She was human. She was weak like any other human and she didn't even posses jewel shards. There was no aura. But she was as fast as a demon. I must find out how that happened.*

Unknown to all, there was a little wasp keeping watch over the events. It buzzed off shortly after the brief battle ended.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Inuyasha was carrying Kagome; Shippo was with Miroku while Sango and Naomi were on Kirara. They had been running for quite sometime. They were far from Sesshomaru now. Inuyasha slowed down and stopped eventually. Kirara flew down and transformed into a two tailed cat. Naomi collapsed on the ground.

"Ne-chan! Are you alright?"

"I feel so tired all of a sudden. I can't stand up. I need some rest I guess." Naomi closed her eyes and she fell asleep almost instantaneously.

[dream begins]

Naomi was standing in a dark place with light illuminating only her.

"Well done," a voice said from inside the darkness. It was a woman speaking, but only a faint outline could be seen from where Naomi stood.

"Who said that?" Naomi said calmly. She had had enough of strange people for one day. An overtly talkative little girl, a green toad that wore clothes, a man with a deceivingly beautiful face and deadly strength, flying cats etc. The list was long.

"You are perfect for the job." The voice said yet again.

"Listen here lady I don't have the time, the interest or the patience to put up with this joke of yours. Just tell me who the heck are you?" Naomi was curt.

"I can't tell you just yet. I have to test you before you can know anything about me. The good news is that you passed the first test. Congratulations. Just don't disappoint me in future." The woman said.

"Puhleez! Spare me the lecture lady. I have more important things to worry about. Let me ask you a new question this time. Where am I?" Patience was one virtue which Naomi lacked in certain situations.

"You are a fiery one I must say. Remember this. You'll be seeing more of me from now on and the every time you use the jewel, you'll be drained of energy. It draws energy from you. Make sure not to use it too much. You can die in the process." The woman was more commanding this time.

"Whoa! How do you know about that jewel? You weren't even around to see me use that thing. And where am I?"

"This is your dream and I don't need to see you to know what you did. I am inside you and I can read your mind. This has been a rather long meeting though. I must leave now. Be careful. You will be facing stronger enemies in future."

"Hey wait! Come back! I need some answers from you!"

[dream ends here]

Naomi woke up and sat up right away. It was still dark. It was all a dream-an odd dream to be honest. She looked around to find everybody sound asleep, except Inuyasha.

"What's wrong? Did you see boogie man in your dreams girly?" He mocked her.

"On the contrary, I just saw boogie woman in my dreams." Naomi said and smiled to herself. She lay back down on the ground and pondered on the mysterious voice from her dream. It had been very strange. The way things were proceeding starting from the strange glow of the shards in Kagome's house. Life just wasn't the same anymore. The night was quiet and the ground was softer this time. Thoughts swarmed in her head and lulled her to sleep without her notice.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

The wasp was buzzing by the ear of someone with long jet black hair-Naraku. He had red eyes and his facial expressions were that of confusion. It was almost as if the bug was able to talk to him.

"I see…A new player has entered the scene." Naraku smiled evilly."I must meet her personally and welcome her to this world. Oh Inuyasha…you come up with ways to trouble me endlessly. But if this girl is who I think she is, this marks the end for you."


	4. Chapter 4

The following morning was cold

The following morning was cold. Inuyasha was already up. Thoughts of the previous day's encounter with his brother bothered him no end. He didn't rescue anybody. Instead somebody rescued him. Naomi, a simple feeble human, saved Inuyasha, a half demon and son of the great Inu no Taisho. Inuyasha was on the brink of defeat at the hands of Sesshomaru-

He was down on his knees gasping for air. He was feeling desperate as Sesshomaru advanced towards him slowly yet scornfully. Sesshomaru was speaking to him, but the words were falling on deaf ears. He was supposed to be rescuing Naomi, but now he himself had to be rescued by someone. Things were not working out. Sesshomaru had his poison claw almost ready and an attack at this time would prove very injurious if not fatal. The girl was yet to be saved and he was in a very sticky situation. But right when Sesshomaru was about to attack, something came crashing into him and things became blurry. He was with Kagome and the others. Sesshomaru was at a fair distance from him now. But what had happened? Where was the girl? He looked around to find her. She wasn't with Rin and Jaken. To his surprise, she stood right beside him. His amazement knew no bounds and he had so many questions. But it was not the time for questions. Given an opportunity, Sesshomaru would attack back and harder than before. It was too risky. The safest way out was to run while they still could. Everybody looked confused, and he used the moment to get out of there as fast as he could. The girl was quiet the whole time. He hadn't rescued her but she was safe. Sesshomaru wouldn't have let her go. Then how did she make it there? More importantly, how did he make it without getting attacked? The only explanation was that the girl had saved him. But how could she out run Sesshomaru? How could Sesshomaru not catch her?

"Ne-chan wake up. It's morning already." Kagome spoke slowly.

"A couple more minutes mother." Naomi said and turned away from Kagome.

"Ne-chan this is Kagome. We have to go. Wake up." Naomi murmured in her sleep but she didn't open her eyes. Inuyasha couldn't bother to waste time. He took some water and poured it all over Naomi.

"Gah! What the hell! That was cold! Who did this?" Naomi woke with a jolt. The cold water did the trick. Kagome smiled sheepishly.

"Inuyasha is always like this. Don't mind him Naomi." Sango said as she offered a towel to her. Miroku was watching and plotting to touch Naomi's bum. He spoke to her as she wiped away all the water.

"So, Naomi. We got off to a bad start yesterday. I wasn't being very polite. What do you say we start all over again?"

She was still suspicious of him, but she approved. "Thank you so much. I'm Miroku, a monk by profession, and what do you do?"

"I'm studying in college. Planning to become an engineer."

"Engineer? What's that?" Sango butt in to keep Miroku from getting out of control.

"I can't explain. It's complicated. And what about you guys? What do you do?"

"I'm a demon slayer. We are professionals who rid villages of demons in exchange for food or money." Sango trailed off to the day when Kohaku tried to kill her under the spell of the spider demon. Tears began to form in her eyes and she was staring at her feet.

"What's wrong Sango?" Naomi placed a hand on her shoulder with concern. Sango wiped her tears quickly and managed a quick smile. She said," Just a memory from the past. My brother is under the control of Naraku. His name is Kohaku. Naraku is using Kohaku by keeping him alive with the help of a jewel shard embedded in his back. I want to kill Naraku and rescue my brother. That's all."

Naomi was confused a little. She said, "Who is Naraku again?"

Kagome sat her down a little away from the others, and explained the whole story. "…So he wants the jewel. He already has the most shards and he wants to collect the rest of them. A few are with me. Sango wants to save Kohaku and Miroku will be swallowed by the wind tunnel in his hand unless Naraku is killed. That's why we are all together on this one and our ultimate objective is the death of Naraku."

Naomi understood the situation completely. But a few things were still not answered.

The jewel was with Kikyo and Kagome is Kikyo's reincarnation. Kagome can see the shards of the sacred jewel because of powers from her past life. She can sense the jewel and she can keep them from getting corrupted. But what role do I play in all this? Only Kagome and Inuyasha could pass through the well. How could I pass through it? The jewel shards changed colours when I held them and Kagome couldn't sense the shards when they were with me. How is all of this happening?

"Ne-chan. Ne-chan. What's the matter? You seem lost."

"You're right. I am lost. There are some things which don't fit right in this story of yours."

"What do you mean?" Kagome couldn't see why Naomi was having such difficulty.

"Kagome, there are a few things which you don't know of. It's about the jewel and me." Naomi was serious, but she was still not sure about telling Kagome of the incidents with the jewel.

"What is it ne-chan?" Kagome was concerned looking at Naomi's countenance.

"I'll explain it to you with an example. C'mon lets go back. I'll need volunteers for this little trick." She winked at Kagome, while the latter was left guessing.

Naomi led the way to where the others were. Sango was better and Miroku was sitting with her. Inuyasha was bullying Shippo and Kirara was scratching herself. Nobody noticed the fact that Naomi and Kagome had returned.

"May I have your attention please? Ladies, gentle-demons and flirtatious monks today I present to you, magician Naomi with trick called-where did the jewel go? For this I need five volunteers. Thank you all." Naomi sure did gather everybody's undivided attention with this little display. She turned to Kagome and said, "I'll need you to face the other side and not look at what we do. I'll be asking you some questions, so be very attentive and make sure you answer the questions correctly and honestly. This is necessary."

"Okay ne-chan."

"Okay people. Kagome is ready. Now I need you guys to do as I ask you to. I will be using some signs to communicate with you. So please respond accordingly. This is a very important exercise. Believe me; you will be alarmed when you learn what wanted to show you." Naomi walked to them and she took out the bottle with the shards. She gave each of them some shards. Inuyasha got one, Shippo got one, Sango got two and Miroku got one shard. She signalled all of them to be quiet. Then she spoke-

"Kagome, I have distributed a few shards among Shippo, Sango, Inuyasha and Miroku. Now tell me, can you sense the jewel shards?"

"Yeah." Kagome said.

"How many do you sense?"

"I sense, four…no five shards. I sense five shards."

"Good. There are five shards which have been distributed here. Now Kagome, I want you to tell me each time you sense a change in the arrangement or the number of shards. Okay?"

"Okay." With that answer, Naomi signalled Sango to give her shards to Miroku, who was standing next to her. Kagome did not respond to the change. She asked Inuyasha to give his shard to Shippo. Kagome still did not respond. She signalled them to observe all of this. Then, she walked over to Shippo, held out her palm with the open bottle and signalled him to hand over the shards. Shippo did as he was asked to do and waited for Kagome to say something. Just as expected Kagome spoke, "The aura of the shards…it just weakened. I can only feel four shards now." Miroku became suspicious and he was about to correct Kagome. Naomi stopped him. She said, "Alright. How about now?" as she collected the remaining shards from the others slowly. Kagome was sounding worried and she said, "The shards…they're disappearing one by one. I can't feel them. They vanished. Ne-chan they vanished!"

"Okay. You can turn around now Kagome." Naomi watched Kagome in a tensed state.

"Don't worry dear. The shards are right here." Naomi said and she showed the bottle in her palm. Kagome breathed a sigh of relief.

"So what're you trying to show us here?" Inuyasha hadn't understood the purpose of this little trick. Miroku stepped in and said-

"Kagome could sense the shards when they were with us, but she couldn't sense them when the shards were with Naomi. Kagome thought the shards disappeared as Naomi took them. So, what Naomi showed us here, is that Kagome can't see the shards when they're with Naomi. Am I right?"

"Dot on target Miroku. But that's not the end of it. There is still one thing that none of you know about." Naomi said and she opened the bottle. She took a few shards in her hand and everybody watched in disbelief as the shards changed colours from purple to blinding white before their very eyes. Naomi put the shards back in the bottle and the shards became purple again.

"How did you do that?" Inuyasha was the first to ask.

"I don't know. It happened the first time I touched the shards. But I was too scared to tell you guys. I didn't know that I'd land up here. But after escaping from Sesshomaru, I had to tell you." Just then, Inuyasha cut her short-

"How did you manage to save me and run so fast yesterday? How did you do that?"

"I used the shards. When I saw you using the shards in your sword, I thought I could use it too. I held them and ran…fortunately for us it worked well."

"I never sensed the jewel shards or you using them." Kagome added.

"That's what I wanted to show you. I don't know how it's been happening.

Instead I thought you guys might know." Naomi sounded disheartened.

"Kaede might have some answers." Miroku said. Everybody turned to him.

He said, "She's the only one who knows more about the jewel than any of us. We have to go to her as soon as possible." Everybody agreed and they left for Kaede's immediately.

--

Kagura was on her feather flying high in the sky. She was in search of Sesshomaru-the only demon with strength enough to defeat Naraku. She was desperate to rid herself of Naraku. Of late Naraku had begun bothering her too much. He issued death threats for almost no reason at all. The situation called for extreme measures. Naraku could kill her any minute without warning her. She had to find Sesshomaru and somehow get him to kill Naraku for her.

As she flew plotting and scheming, a wasp came to her and conveyed Naraku's message.

"Alright." She said with great distaste, as the bug buzzed away. There was a new turn of events. Naraku's command to her was out of the ordinary. She thought-

He wants me to follow a new human in the band of Inuyasha. But why the new one? It should have been Kagome-the girl with the shards. If Naraku's interest has shifted from the priestess, then this new member in Inuyasha's group must be of greater interest to him…or this person poses a greater threat to him. I need to know more about this.


End file.
